Well, I'll probably upgrade both eventually, but right now I want to figure out which to upgrade first.
I want to increase my sword damage output to try reduce the amount of time I'm dealing with each enemy encounter (and especially so I can kill those damn healers faster).
Thing is, using the stat display to compare the maximum potential damage of the Ascended Calibur and the Leviathon Blade doesn't seem to show any real difference. I've seen from other postings that the stat meters aren't always 100% accurate though. Is there an actual damage difference or does the Levi have some other benefit over the 4* version?
Even if there is a noticeable damage difference, would I benefit more from upgrading the sword directly or upgrading the shield? The shield upgrade improves the sword damage bonus from low to med (that and makes it less likely to break on me - oh boy was I surprised when a mecha knight's charge attack broke the shield in one hit). But I don't know if that would be more beneficial for me.
I would upgrade your shield to 5* first. The additional damage bonus to swords is much more tangible. Mecha Knights will still break this shield at 5* with a charge attack so you must: shield bump, interrupt the attack, or run... taking that kind of hit to your shield is unadvised.
The damage difference is negligible at most depths:
http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Ascended_Calibur#Damage
http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Leviathan_Blade#Damage
It is rumored that the Levi has more reach, but testing in the Training Hall I cannot tell the difference. I think that the Levi just has a larger appearance rather than actual reach.
Levi might have slightly more knockback? They both have so much knockback that is it hard to measure.